Tab-cutting machine.



Patented July I, I902.

E. B. STIMPSON.

TAB CUTTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1902.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

- (No Model.)

WITNESSES jW/W wish-W ATTORNEY No. 703,748. Patented July I, 1902.

' E. B. STIMPSON.

TAB CUTTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1909.)

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3 Sheets-$heet 2.

(No Model.)

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BY 2 ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July 1, I902.

' -7% III I 'I "III E. B. STIMPSON.

TAB CUTTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1909.).

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INVENTOR FFI E.

PATENT .EDWIN- BAL sTIMPsoN, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.-

TAB-CUTTING MACHINE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Nof'zoams, dated July 1, 1902.

Application filed April12,1902. Serial No. 102,599. (No modelfi To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN BALL STIMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and city and State of New York, have invented certain 'Improvementsin Tab-Outting Machines, ot which thefollowing isa specification.

This invention relates to what is known in the trade as a tab-cutter. In a machine of this class as ordinarily constructed there is a bed on which the card to'be cut is supported, a fixed shear-blade on saidv bed, a movable blade mounted'to play'in guides perpendicutions called,'tabs, which are. usually of a semicircular form. Such cards are used in card-indexes and the like. These machines are'found' to be slow in operation by reason of the difficulty in conveniently and quickly removing the card after itis cut or trimmed, owing to the back-stop, which rises above the surface of the bed and the card, being fixed in position, and one of the important features of my invention is an automatic means for dropping or displacing this back-stop at the proper time, so as to leave the trimmed card free to be slipped off from-the bed.

Another feature of the invention relates to means for coupling up the tab-cutter with the reciprocating head of a gang-punch and for securing the bed of the cutter in the'slotted bed of said punch.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the inven tion, Figure 1 is a plan of the tab-cutter detached. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of same. Figs. 3 and'4 are end elevations of the same, the formershowing the parts in their normal positions 7 and the latter showing'them in the positions they occupy whenthe blade is depressedr Fig. 5 is a frontview, on a smaller scale, showing the cutter mounted on a gang punching-machine; and Fig. 6 is a transverse verthe card and the fixed blade 3.

blade .5 is secured to a slide 4, which plays tical section 'atline w in Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a slight modification.

The tab-cutter comprises in itself the following features: 1 is the metal frame, on which is secured the bed .2, which supports The movable in guides 5 on the base in aplane perpendicular to the surface of the bed. On the bed is mounted an adjustable end stop or gage (i for the card in Fig. 1) to be cut or trimmed.

The back-stop 7, which has heretofore been fixed to the bed 2 SO'jtS'tO extend a little above the upper surface of the latter and take behind the card to be out, is in the present construction coupled at each extremity to one arm of an elbow-lever S, fulcrumed at 9 on the upright guide on the base, the other or upright arm 8 of the lever being coupled by a spring 10 to some part of the guide 5. The spring 10 keeps the arm 8 of the lever up against-a roller-stud 11 on the end of the slide 4, said roller projecting through and playing in a slot or aperture 12 in the guide 5. When the slide 4 and blade 3 are elevated,

as in Fig. 3, the elbow-levers will be in such positions that they hold the back-stop '7 in its elevated andoperative position; but when 'the slide and blade move down in cutting the.

roller-studs ll wipe over cam-faces 13 on the upright arms 8" 'of the elbow-levers, rock the levers, and depress the back-stop 7, as seen in Fig. 4. When the stop 7 is depressed to its full extent, a gravity-latch. 14 engages a stud 15 on the lever-arm 8 and holds the lever against return until the latch is lifted. This release is etfected by the return movement of the slide 4, which causes the stud 11 to take under the latch and lift it out of engagement.

It will be noted that when the parts are at I rest with the slide 4 elevated the upright arm S ot the lever bears against the stud 11 as a stop, and the said stud upholds the latch 14.

out is placed with one end up to the gage 6 and withits rear edge up to the elevated backstop 7. The blade 3 nowdescends and shears .It is not essential, however, that the rolleroff the card; but in its descent the roller-studs llact through the elbow-levers to press down' the back-stop 7 until its upper edge is below the card, so that the latter maybe'conveniently slipped back oil from the supportingbed. The latches 14 by locking the levers prevent the return of the back-stop to its normal position until the'blade 3 shall have chine adapted for operating the cutter above. 5

bed 16 of the punching-machine, audit has nearly reached'its normal elevation, when the roller-studs take .under'the latches and displace them, thusleaving the springs free to restore the parts again.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a gang punchingqna described. This machine is in most respects similar to or like that illustrated and described in my United States Patent No. 665,702, dated January 8, 1901, and hence will require only a brief description.

16 is the slotted ,bed of the punching-mag on it blocks 20, which take in the, slot 21 in the bed" 16, the cutter being thus made adjustable along said slot as a guideway. I

On the upper edge of the slide 4 of the cutter are stems 22, adapted to engage adjustable holders 23 on the head 18. These holders 23 are substantially the same as those in the punch-holders described in my said patent' that is to say, each comprises a block mounted in a guideway in the head 18, which ,eX- tends across the machine from side to side, and a recessed holder mounted in a dovetail groove or way in said block, the saidgroove extending from front to rear of the machine.

The stems 22 have heads which enter the recesses in the faces of the respective holders,

and thus couple the slide 4 to the head 18, so

that the reciprocatingmovements of the latter areimparted to the slide.

It now remains to'explain .the means em-.

24, which may close into a recess formed in one face of the block 20, that is adjacent to a wall of the slot 21. This plate 24: has a stem 25, which extends into ahole or bore 26 in the block 20 and which has a recess in its side so formed as to provide an inclinedsh'oulder 27. i

A conical-pointedscrew 28 is driven through the block 20 and impinges on said shoulder 27 in such a way as to drive out the lockingplate 24 in the manner of a wedge-that is to say, the screw drives or moves out the locking-plate in a direction at right angles to the path of the screw. '5 WVhen the cutter'is placedon the bed of the. punching-machine and the l blocks 20 made to engage the slot 21 therein,

, ,7 the plates 24 willbe in flush. Thecutter is movedalong the slot to the desired position v and the screws28' driven in forcibly, s0 asto' set the locking-plates firmlyagainst the wall of the slot 21. Thi's'will holdthecutter firmly. The holders 23 are now moved into position v and made to engage or embrace the stems 22, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6, readyfor operation.

' The slide at may have cushion-springs29-inf the guides" at its ends, and the end stopG may and the cutter is play in a slot or guideway 30 in. the bed 2 and I beheld in position when. set by a pin in its bottom engaging one'of aseries of holes 31. in the bed atthe bottom of said slot 30,.as

seen in Fig. 1. r

This invention is not restrictedinall re- 'spects tothejsp'ecific construction herein, I shown. This construction may obviously be varied without departing materially from theinvention. Oneblock 20, with its locking devices, wouldjserve, but two are preferred. 7

7 is a sectional View, and Fig.8 a plan,

stop. In this construction the stop 7 is a rod being seen at 32 in Fig. 8.

which are coupled the elbow-levers 8. Nor:

mally the face ;7" of the stop-is in,a vertical plane; but the lever S.rccks the stop so as to turn said face into a horizontal position I 2 level with the surface of the bed, or nearly so:

Any similar form of displace'able-stopmaybe employed. Figs. 7 and 8 are"-fragmentary and only show the devices at one end of the stop. 7

It should be p is not only movable and displaceable, but is to be slipped back off from thesurface of the understood that the back-stop bed after it is out. In fact, when cutting'the yond the edge of the bed when freed by the cutting-blade, at which time the back-stop usual stiff .tab-cardssinglyin the ordinaryy i way the latter willusually spring back bewill have been displaced, so as to be entirely out of the way;

Having thus described myinvention, I-

claim 1. A cutter for the purpose specified, hav- 1 ing a bed to support the sheet 'to be cut,a movable cutting-blade, a movablebackstop or gage for the sheet, means for operating thesaid cutting-blade, and means between the cuttingblade and back-stop which wholly displaces the'latter when said blade makes; I its cutting movement, whereby the operator may remove the sheet by sliding it back oif from the bed. 1

2. A cutter for the purposespecified, hav

ing a bed to support the sheet to be cut, a

movable cutting-blade, a movable back stop no wholly displaceable, so as" to permit the sheet slide and its guides, a cutting-blade carried by said slide, a fixed blade on the bed, a movable back-stop for the sheet, mechanism between the said stop and slide whereby the former is actuated by the, latter, said mechanism comprising the elbow-levers carrying the back-stop and studs on the slide adapted to actuate or rock said levers when the slide makes an operative movement, the retracting-springs of the levers, the locking-latches adapted to be upheld normally by said studs, and the studs in the levers for said latches to engage.

4. The combination with a slotted bed to .receivethe cutter, of the said cutter having a block on and extending below its base to engage said slot, the locking-plate 24, provided with a stem guided in a bore in the block, and a cone-pointed screw 28 driven'in the'block at an angle to the said stem and adapted to bear on a shoulder on the latter for moving out the clamping-plate into forcible contact with the wall of said slot,whereby the cutter may be'moved along the slot 'in the bed and clamped at any desired point by means carried with the cutter. g

5. The combination with the machine having a sliding head 18, a slotted bed'16,and holders 23'adjustably mounted on said-head 18, of a cutter having a blade-carrying slide 4, provided with headed stems 22 to engage the holders 23, and means for locking the base of the cutter in the slotted bed 16, substantially as set forth.

6. A tab-cutter having a displaceable backstop, a movable cutting-blade, and means between said blade and stop whereby the former wholly displaces the latter in its cutting movement, whereby space is provided for sliding the cut sheet back off from the bed.

In witness whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name, thislOth day of April, 1902, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN BALL STIMPSON.

Witnesses:

PETER A. Boss, WILLIAM J. FIRTH. 

